Current weather

MLB backs out of trip to Japan

Reaction to war planning

PHOENIX - Major league baseball canceled the season-opening series in Japan between Seattle and Oakland because of the threat of war in Iraq.

''Given the uncertainty that now exists throughout the world, we believe the safest course of action for the players involved and the many staff personnel who must work the games is to reschedule the opening series,'' commissioner Bud Selig said. ''It would be unfair and terribly unsettling for them to be half a world away - away from their families at this critical juncture.''

The teams had planned to leave today for games March 25-26 at the Tokyo Dome. But plans were put on hold Tuesday morning as Selig and major league officials talked to government and security agencies.

Baseball opened its 2000 season in Tokyo, with the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs playing two games.

Seattle's visit was highly anticipated because of two Japanese stars on the Mariners: Ichiro Suzuki and Kazuhiro Sakaki. It would have been the first time Seattle owner Hiroshi Yamauchi, who lives in Japan, saw his team play.

The games were rescheduled for April 3 and June 30 in Oakland.

''With world tensions so high, this is the prudent course of action,'' union head Donald Fehr said.

Baseball had already been planning to have the New York Yankees open the 2004 season in Japan, probably against Tampa Bay, Toronto or Baltimore.

Unlike the 2000 Japan trip, where many players took their families to see the sights, the traveling parties for the A's and Mariners had shaped up to be much smaller.

AL MVP Miguel Tejada and Athletics outfielder Jermaine Dye were among those who were planing to leave their families at home.

''It's a tough decision,'' Tejada said. ''We're a team. We all have to stick together.''